Chessmen and package containing same



June 30, 1970 F. L. GRAHAM CHESSMEN AND PACKAGE CONTAINING SAME 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 27. 1967 m T N E V W F [4mm GRAHAM ATTOFNEYJime so, 1910 F. L. GRAHAM 3,517,935

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CHESSMEN AND PACKAGE CONTAINING SAME Filed June 2'7. 196? 3 Sheets-Sheet5 United States Patent 3,517,935 CHESSMEN AND PACKAGE CONTAINING SAMEFloyd Lanier Graham, 20 W. 76th St., New York, N.Y. 10023 Filed June 27,1967, Ser. No. 649,171 Int. Cl. A63f 3/00 US. Cl. 273-137 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Set of chessmen having individual pieces soformed that a double set fits neatly and tightly into a box of simpleshape such as a rectangular parallelepiped. The chessmen are constructedin pairs having complementary surfaces such that each assembled pair isa rectangular parallelepiped. The transverse area of each assembled pairis the same; the length of each assembled pair is a submultiple of thelength of the box into which the double set is to fit. The relativeheights of the chessmen are indicative of their value in the game; thetop portion of at least some pieces is suggestive of their allowedmoves.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Chessmen generally are carried or stored inpackages of one or the other of two types. If the chessmen arestructurally simple and made of strong material, the two sets of mennecessary to play the game are commonly packaged in a simple box, intowhich the men are placed in random order. The box is made large enoughso that it can hold the chessmen in any tangled order in which they mayhappen to be inserted. In the other hand, if the chessmen are large, orif they are made of fragile material, they are usually packed in a casehaving closely fitting recesses and pads provided to receive each pieceand hold it against movement while the case is being transported.

It has been proposed to provide a set of chessmen, each of which ismarked with a suggestion of the moves which that particular man canmake.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The chessmen of the present invention areso formed that a double set fits neatly and tightly into a box of simpleshape. In the preferred embodiments, the internal contour of the 'box isthat of a rectangular parallelepiped. In order to make the set ofchessmen fit such a box, the chessmen are constructed in pairs havingcomplementary upper end surfaces which enable such a pair to beassembled end to end as a complementary pair. When so assembled, thecomplementary pair has two flat end surfaces at right angles to the axisof the pair and lateral surfaces defining a region having equal maximumtransverse dimensions in two direction perpendicular to each ather andto the aligned axes of the assembled pair. The correspondingly definedregions in all the assembled pairs have equal maximum transversedimensions.

The tops of the chessmen are formed to suggest the length and directionof the move which the piece may make, and the relative heights of thechessmen indicate their relative power.

DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a box containing a double setof chessmen constructed in accordance with the invention, with parts ofthe box broken away to reveal the contours of the chessmen and onemanner in which they may be packed;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but showing slightly diflerentproportions for the knights and the bishops;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIGS. 1 and 2, showing different proportionsfor the king and queen;

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FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIGS. 1 to 3, showing differentconfigurations in the king and queen;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the king according to FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the queen of FIG. 3; FIG. 7 is aperspective view of the bishop; FIG. 8 is a perspective view of theknight; 4 FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the rook in FIGS. 1 to FIG. 10is a somewhat diagrammatic illustration of a modified form of pawn;

FIG. 11 is a somewhat diagrammatic illustration of a modified form ofbishop; f FIG. 12 is a perspective view of two pawns of modified orm;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a box containing a set of chessmen constructedin accordance with a modification of the invention; and

FIGS. 14-19 are perspective views, respectively, of the king, queen,bishop, knight, rook and pawn, in the chessmen of FIG. 13. 1

DETAILED DESCRIPTION All of the sets of chessmen described herein havethe property of fitting snugly into a container of simple form. Whilethe containers illustrated have the shape of a common box, i.e., arectangular parallelepiped, other simple shapes may be used, e.g acylinder.

The chessmen of FIGS. 1-9 and 12 are designed to fill a reactangularparallelepiped box completely and are based on the principle that eachcomplementary pair of chess men defines a rectangular parallelepiped sothat the box is snugly filled if its dimensions conform to thedimensions of the sum of the parallelepipeds defined by thecomplementary pairs of chessmen. FIGS. 10 and 11 show modifications ofthe chessmen of FIGS. 1-9 and 12 which do not fill the box completely,due to beveled edges of the chessmen.

The chessmen of FIGS. 13-19 are based on the principle that eachcomplementary pair of chessmen define a right cylinder. While this setof chessmen does not fill a rectangular parallelepiped box completely,it nevertheless fits snugly into such a box.

Each complementary pair of chessmen may alternatively define other solidfigures, e.g., parallelepipeds of hexagonal or octagonal cross-section.

FIGURE 1 There is shown in FIG. 1 a simple rectangular box 1 having ahinged lid 2. The lid may be held closed by any suitable fastening orlocking mechanism (not shown). By a rectangular box is meant one havingthe internal contour of a rectangular parallelepiped. Within the box aretwo layers of chessmen, the bottom layer being indicated at 3 and thetop layer at 4. Only the top layer is completely visible. The top layeronly will be described in detail, it being assumed that the pieces inthe bottom layer, representing the set of men for the opposing player,are the same in form. The set of chessmen in the layer 4 includes eightpawns 5, each having the form of a cube. Two rocks 6 each have the formof a rectangular parallelepiped equal to two cubes placed side-by-side.Each of the knights 7 consists of a base portion 7a of the samedimensions as a pawn 5 and an upwardly projecting flanges 7b along oneside. The flange 7b is somewhat longer than the pawn, beingapproximately 1% times the length of one side of the pawn. The bishopsare shown at 8, and are triangular in horizontal cross-section, whenlying on their sides, as they appear in the drawing. The height of thebishops is 2 /2 times the length of the side of one pawn.

The king is shown at 9 and is equal to three pawns placed side-by-sideplus a crown consisting of a simple triangular peak having a 90 dihedralangle. The queen is shown at 10 and consists of a base portion equal totwo and one-half pawns placed side-by-side plus a crown consisting oftwo prongs, each having a 45 dihedral angle.

In the conventional language of chess, the word piece denotes a chessmanother than a pawn. That terminology is employed in this application.

The chessmen in FIG. 1 may be arranged in complenentary pairs, so thateach pair forms a rectangular parallelepiped. Thus, the two rooks 6 maybe placed endto-end to form a rectangular parallelepiped having thedimension of four pawns placed side-by-side (although the rooks 6 arenot so placed in FIG. 1). The two knights 7 may be placed end-to-end, asshown, to form a rectangular parallelepiped having the dimension ofthree and onehalf pawns placed side-by-side. Similarly, the bishops 8form a rectangular parallelepiped having the dimension of two andone-half pawns. The king and queen together form a rectangularparallelepiped having the dimension of six pawns. Thus, all the piecestogether occupy a volume equal to 16 pawns and one complete set ofchessmen (8 pieces plus 8 pawns) occupies a space equal to 24 pawns, orone layer in the box 1.

FIGURE 2 FIG. 2 shows another set of chessmen constructed in accordancewith the invention. The pawns 5, the rooks 6, the king 9 and the queen10 have the same shape as in FIG. 1.

The knights 11 in FIG. 2 have a base 11a which is the same size as oneof the cubes and an upwardly projecting flange 11b along one side (seeFIG. 8) which is half as thick as the base. Thus, the knight 11 in FIG.8 may be described as having a cutout in its upper surface, which is oneunit wide, as shown at 11c, and two units high, as shown at 11d. Thus,the contours of the edges 11c and 11d suggest the knights move in chess,which is one square in any of the four rectilinear directions from thesquare in which the knight sits, plus two squares in either direction atright angles to the direction originally chosen. Note that the edge 110is one-half of the length of the edge 11d, and that the two edges 11band 11c are at right angles to each other.

The bishops 12 in FIG. 2 have a base equal to the volume of a singlepawn 5. The top end of each bishop is mitered at an angle of 45 so as toprovide the bishop with a triangular crown with ane side set at a 45slant. This configuration illustrates the fact that a bishop in chessalways moves in a diagonal path. The contour of the top end of thebishops thus suggests the proper move for those pieces. The rooks 6 havea rectangular flat end surface, which suggests that a rook always movesalong a rectilinear path parallel to the sides of the board.

FIGURE 3 The set of chessmen shown in FIG. 3 is similar to that shown inFIG. 2, except that the king is made taller, as shown at 13, and thequeen is made shorter, as shown at 14, in order to make clear thedistinction between those two pieces.

The set of chessmen shown in FIG. 3 is the presently preferredembodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 4 This figure illustrates another set of chessmen similar to thesets in FIGS. 2 and 3 except that the king and queen are contouredslightly differently at their upper ends. The king is shown at 15 andhas a projecting flange along the middle of its upper surface. The queenis shown at 16 and has two projecting flanges at the sides of the uppersurface. The king 15 is taller than the queen 16 by the length of itsupper flange.

Since the rooks 6 and the pawns 5 all have flat end surfaces at rightangles to their side surfaces, they are interchangeable when making upcomplementary pairs to fill the box. Thus two pawns may make up onecomplementary pair, as in the case of any two adjacent pawns in FIG. 1.Also, two rooks may make up one complementary pair, as in the case ofthe two rooks 6 in FIG. 2. Alternatively, one rook and one pawn may makeup a complementary pair, as in the case of either rook 6 and the pawn 5adjacent its end in FIG. 3.

FIGURES 5-9 The configurations of the individual pieces of the sets ofFIGS. 2 and 3 are illustrated in FIGS. 5-9.

FIGURES 10-1 1 In all of the embodiments of the invention illustratedabove, the space within the box is substantially completely filled.However, it is not necessary that the chessmen be formed so that thespace within the box is completely filled.

FIG. 10 shows a pawn 16 which may be substituted for one of the pawns 5in any of FIGS. 14. FIG. 11 shows a bishop 17 which may be substitutedfor the bishop 8 of FIG. 1. It may be seen that the pawn 16 is derivedfrom the pawn 5, the latter being shown in dotted lines in FIG. 10, bymitering the rectangular corners. Similarly, the bishop 17 of FIG. 11 isderived from the bishop 8 of FIG. 1 by mitering the corners.

Thus, it is not necessary, to secure snug packing of the chessmen in arectangular box, that the men have the specific shapes shown in FIGS.l-8. The pawns do not have to be cubes. For example, they may berectangular parallelepipeds with one dimension longer than the othertwo. Alternatively, two pawns 18 may have the forms illustrated in FIG.12.

Furthermore, the complementary pairs of chessmen do not have to formparallelepipeds. Thus, neither of complementary pair of two pawns 16 nora complementary pair of two bishops 17 form a parallelepiped.

If the pair of chessmen are to be of rectanglar crosssection, then it isnecesary that each chessman have at least four plane surfaces ofsubstantial extent respectively coincident with at least portions offour of the six plane surfaces of a rectangular parallelepiped.

For example, in FIG. 10, the pawn 16 has plane surfaces 16a, 16b, whichare respectively coincident with portions of three plane surfaces of therectangular parallelepiped (cube) corresponding to the pawn 5, indicatedby dotted lines in FIG. 10. The pa'wn 1 6 also has three other similarplane surfaces respectively coincident'with portions of the other threesurfaces of the cube-shaped pawn 5, which other three surfaces are notvisible in FIG. 10. Thus, the pawn 16, like the pawn 5, has six planesurfaces respectively coincident with the six surfaces of a rectangularparallelepiped.

In FIG. 11, the bishop 17 has three plane surfaces 17a, 17b, 170, whichare respectively coincident with portions of three of the plane faces ofthe bishop 8 of FIG. 1. However, only the surfaces 17b and of thosevisible in FIG. 11 are coincident with surfaces of a rectangularparallelepiped. The rear surface and the bottom surface, not visible inFIG. 11, also are coincident with portions of the surfaces of arectangular parallelepiped, so that the bishop 17 has four surfaceswhich are respectively coincident with portions of four of the six planesurfaces of a rectangular parallepiped.

It is necessary, in constructing a set of chessmen in accordance withthe invention, that the upper end of each chessman be so formed that themen together have eight pairs of complementary upper end surfaces, sothat the chessmen of each ,complementary pair may be assembled withtheir upper end surfaces in engagement and their axes aligned.Typically, for a set of chessmen eight complementary pairs include fourpairs of pawns, one pair each of rooks, knights, bishops, and one pairconsisting of the king and queen.

Each assembled complementary pair must have lateral surfaces extendingat right angles to the bottom surfaces of the pair (which appear as endsurfaces when assembled) and of substantial length. These lateralsurfaces define in each pair a region having equal maximum transversedimensions in two directions perpendicular to each other and to the axisof the assembled pair. The corresponding regions in all the assembledpairs must have equal maximum transverse dimensions.

If the chessmen are so designed, then a complete double set is adaptedto fit snugly into a space having: (1) a length equal to a multiple ofthe length of a complementary pair of pawns; and (2) dimensions in twodirections perpendicular to each other and to said space length, whichdimensions are equal to multiples of the maximum transverse dimensionsof an assembled pair.

FIGURES 13-19 These figures illustrate a box 20 in the form of arectangular parallelepiped, containing a set of chessmen including aking 21, a queen 22, two rooks 23, two knights 24, two bishops 25 andeight pawns 26.

Each chessman of this set is generally in the form of a right cylinder.The upper ends of the right cylinders are modified to form complementarypairs of surfaces, so that the chessmen can be put together incomplementary pairs to fit snugly into the box 20. As in the case of thechessmen of FIGS. l9, the shapes of the upper ends of the respectivechessmen suggest to a player the proper move available to that man.

Furthermore, the lengths of the respective men are roughly proportionalto the power of the man.

The cross-sectional dimensions of the men do not need to be the samethroughout their length. For example, see the bishop '8 in FIG. 1, thepawn 16 in FIG. and the bishop 17 in FIG. 11. The cross-sectionaldimensions may vary in other fashions throughout the length of aparticular chessman. For example, some of the men may be provided withperipheral grooves.

In the sets shown, the men of each double set follow a consistent designmotif, in that the men of FIGS. 19 are based on a rectangularparallelepiped while the men of FIGS. 13-19 are based on a rightcylinder. It is not, however, necessary to the invention that all themen of a set be based on the same design motif. For example, the piecesof FIG. 3 could be packed snugly in the same box with the pawns of FIG.13, or vice versa.

There are many different ways of packing a given set of men constructedin accordance with the invention in a particular box. FIGS. 1-4illustrate several such ways and FIG. 13 illustrates still another way.The order in which the pieces are placed in the box and their relativepositions therein are of no moment as long as they all fit in snugly.

It is preferred to pack chessmen constructed in accordance with theinvention in a transparent plastic box in order that they may beobserved more readily, but such a box is not a necessary feature of theinvention.

Complementary end surfaces, as the term is used in this specification,is intended to be inclusive of flat end surfaces, as on the rooks andpawns. Furthermore, the description of such surfaces as being inengagement is intended to be inclusive of surfaces which are simplyabutting.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention,other modifications thereof will readily occur to those skilled in theart, and I therefore intend my invention to be limited only by theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A set of chessmen including eight pawns and eight pieces, eachchessman having a bottom surface at right angles to the vertical axis ofthe chessman, a top surface, and side surfaces, wherein the improvementcomprises:

(a) means at the upper ends of said chessmen defining eight pairs ofcomplementary upper end surfaces, at least one pair of such surfaceshaving interfitting contours, so that the chessmen of each complementarypair may be assembled with their upper end surfaces in engagement andtheir axes aligned;

(b) each said assembled pair having portions of said side surfaces ofsubstantial length defining a region having equal maximum transversedimensions in two directions perpendicular to each other and to the axisof the assembled pair;

(0) the corresponding regions in all the assembled pairs having equalmaximum transverse dimensions;

(d) the. eight pawns being adapted to be assembled in four complementarypawn-pairs of equal length; and

(e) the eight pieces having axial dimensions proportioned with respectto the axial dimensions of the pawns so that the pieces may be assembledin four complementary piece-pairs having a total length equal to amultiple of the length of one pawn-pair;

(if) so that the complete set is adapted to fit snugly into a spacehaving a length equal to a multiple of said pawn-pair length anddimensions in two directions perpendicular to each other and to saidspace length equal to multiples of said maximum transverse dimensions ofan assembled pair.

2. A set of chessmen including eight pawns and eight pieces, eachchessman having a bottom surface at right angles to the vertical axis ofthe chessman, a top surface, and side surfaces, wherein the improvementcomprises:

(a) means at the upper ends of said chessmen defining eight pairs ofcomplementary upper end surfaces so that the chessmen of eachcomplementary pair may be assembled with their upper end surfaces inengagement and their axes aligned;

(h) each said assembled pair having portions of said side surfacesextending at right angles to the bottom surfaces of the pair and ofsubstantial length, said portions of said side surfaces defining in eachpair a region having equal maximum transverse dimensions in twodirections perpendicular to each other and to the axis of the assembledpair;

(c) the corresponding regions in all the assembled pairs having equalmaximum transverse dimensions;

(d) one of said complementary pairs of pieces comprising two bishops,each having a bottom plane end surface extending at right angles to itsaxis and a top plane end surface extending at an angle of 45 to itsaxis;

(e) the eight pawns being adapted to be assembled in four complementarypawn-pairs of equal length; and

(f) the eight pieces being adapted to be assembled in four complementarypiece-pairs having a total length equal to a multiple of the length ofone pawn-pair;

(g) so that the complete set is adapted to fit snugly into a spacehaving a length equal to a multiple of said pawn-pair length anddimensions in two directions perpendicular to each other and to saidspace length equal to multiples of said maximum transverse dimensions ofan assembled pair.

3. A set of chessmen including eight pawns and eight pieces, eachchessman having a bottom surface at right angles to the vertical axis ofthe. chessman, a top surface, and side surfaces, wherein the improvementcomprises:

(a) means at the upper ends of said chessmen defining eight pairs ofcomplementary upper end surfaces so that the chessmen of eachcomplementary pair may be assembled with their upper end surfaces inengagement and their axes aligned;

(b) each said assembled pair having portions of said side surfacesextending at right angles to the bottom surfaces of the pair and ofsubstantial length, said portions of said side surfaces defining in eachpair a region having equal maximum transverse dimensions in twodirections perpendicular to each other and to the axis of the assembledpair;

() the corresponding regions in all the assembled pairs having equalmaximum transverse dimensions;

((1) one of said complementary pairs of pieces comprising two knights,each having a bottom plane end surface at right angles to its axis; andtwo top plane end surfaces, parallel to the bottom plane end surface,each top plane end surface being equal to onehalf of the bottom planeend surface; one of said two top plane end surfaces being located twiceas far from the bottom plane end surface as the other; and an axialplane surface connecting said top plane end surfaces;

wherein the improvement comprises:

(c) means at the upper ends of said chessmen defining sixteen pairs ofcomplementary upper end surfaces, at least one pair of such surfaceshaving interfitting (e) the eight pawns being adapted to be assembledcontours, so that the chessmen of each complementary in fourcomplementary pawn-pairs of equal length; pair may be assembled withtheir upper end surfaces and in engagement and their axes aligned;

(f) the eight pieces being adapted to be assembled in ((1) each saidassembled pair having portions of said four complementary piece-pairshaving a total length side surfaces extending at right angles to thebottom equal to a multiple of the length of one pawn-pair; 520 surfacesof the pair and of substantial length, said (g) so that the complete setis adapted to fit snugly portions of the side surfaces defining in eachpair into a space having a length equal to a multiple a region havingequal maximum transverse dimenof said pawn-pair length and dimensions intwo disions in two directions perpendicular to each other rectionsperpendicular to each other and to said space and to the axis of theassembled pair; length equal to multiples of said maximum trans- (e) thecorresponding regions in all the assembled verse dimensions of anassembled pair. 4. A set of chessmen including eight pawns and eightpairs having equal maximum transverse dimensions; (f) the sixteen pawnsbeing adapted to be assembled in eight complementary pawn-pairs of equallength;

pieces, each chessman having a bottom surface at right angles to thevertical axis of the chessman, a top surface, and and side surfaces,wherein the improvement comprises: (g) the sixteen pieces having axialdimensions propor- (a) means at the, upper ends of said chessmendefining eight pairs of complementary upper end surfaces so that thechessmen of each complementary pair may be assembled with their upperend surfaces in engagement and their axes aligned;

('b) each said assembled pair having portions of said side surfacesextending at right angles to the bottom surfaces of the pair and ofsubstantial length, said portions of said side surfaces defining in eachpair a region having equal maximum transverse dimentioned with respectto the axial dimensions of the pawns so that the pieces may be assembledin eight complementary piece-pairs having a total length equal to amultiple of the length of one pawn-pair; and

('h) so that the two sets fit snugly into said container.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS sions in two directionsperpendicular to each other gfizfigig 273-437 and to the axis of theassembled pair; I (c) the corresponding regions in all the assembled1549610 8/1925 Relsz 273 136 pairs having equal maximum transversedimensions; FOREIGN PATENTS ((1) one of said complementary pairs ofpieces com- 5 5 5 prising a king and a queen having complementary g 13/1913 Germanyinterfitting upper end portions; ggggigd t b bled in J (e)the eight pawns being a apted o e assem ,0 0 6/1966 Great Britain.

four complementary pawn-pairs of equal length; and

(f) the eight pieces being adapted to be assembled in four complementarypiece-pairs having a total length equal to a multiple of the length ofone pawn-pair; (g) so that the complete set is adapted to fit snuglyinto a space having a length equal to a multiple of said DELBERT B.LOWE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

